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The FBI is helping investigate what led a Texas policeman to shoot dead a wheelchair-bound double amputee who was agitated and threatening officers with what turned out to be a ballpoint pen.

Houston police chief Charles McClelland also asked the community to "reserve judgment" on the officer and his actions at the Healing Hands group home for the mentally ill, and sought to reassure the public that all his officers were trained to deal with people with mental problems.
Community and civil rights groups say Saturday's incident is another example of problems the police department has with using excessive force.

Officer Matthew Marin shot 45-year-old Brian Claunch after responding to a call that the man, who reportedly lost two limbs in a train accident, was causing a disturbance.
Police have said Mr Claunch cornered and threatened Officer Marin, who reportedly told investigators he did not know the object in Mr Claunch's hand was a pen.
John Garcia, who owns the group home, said Mr Claunch liked to draw.
Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said she did not know if FBI assistance in officer-involved shootings was rare, but said "it's the step we're taking at this point".

The Greater Houston Coalition for Justice, a group that includes 16 local and national civil rights organisations, suggested Mr Claunch's death was part of a bigger problem at the police department.

"The deeper problem is a failure to discipline for excessive force, especially in the area of shootings," said Randall Kallinen, a member of the group and a civil rights lawyer.
Mr Kallinen said he would like the shooting to spark a change in the police department regarding discipline and training of officers.

Officer Marin, a five-year veteran of the department, has been placed on three-day administrative leave. That is standard department procedure for all officer-involved shootings and Ms Silva said no unusual measures were being taken that would prevent him from returning to duty this week.
It is the second time Officer Marin has killed a suspect while on duty. In 2009, investigators said he came upon a man stabbing his neighbour to death at an apartment complex and fired when the suspect refused to drop the knife, according to the Houston Chronicle.

In Saturday's incident he and a partner arrived at the group home at around 2.30am, responding to a disturbance call made by the group's caretaker. Police have not elaborated on the nature of the disturbance before they arrived.

Once inside the home, the department said in a separate statement, they found an agitated Mr Claunch threatening to kill the officers and other residents. While yelling at the officers, Mr Claunch "waved a shiny object in his hand in their direction", according to the statement.
Police say Mr Claunch refused an officer's direction to drop what turned out to be a ballpoint pen.

"As the suspect backed one of the officers into a corner, he attempted to stab the officer with the object," the statement said.

"Officer Marin, fearing for his partner's life, and his own safety, discharged his duty weapon one time, striking the suspect."

Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Guardianship Programme, said Mr Claunch had been a ward of the country since 2003 and had lived at the home since March.

Mr Garcia said Mr Claunch had lost his right leg to just above the knee and his right arm when he was hit by a train, according to the Houston Chronicle. He said Mr Claunch was schizophrenic.

Relatives of Mr Claunch could not be found yesterday. Public records show he had brushes with the law several times over the last 20 years, including a 2006 arrest for trespassing at a shelter. His record also includes drug convictions.

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HOUSTON -- Mental illness prompted Brian Claunch to get rid of his own left arm and leg. Then, despite his disabilities, he spent the better part of a decade finding opportunities to run away from residential care facilities, preferring to live on the streets.

Yet in recent months, the 45-year-old man who was in a wheelchair and had paranoid schizophrenia seemed to settle into some stability, staying put, taking his medications.

That all abruptly ended this past weekend in a confrontation with police in which a Houston police officer fatally shot Claunch.

Despite his history of harming himself, Claunch's criminal and mental health backgrounds don't indicate he was violent toward others. John Garcia, owner of the Healing Hands Assisted Home Care facility where Claunch was living and where the confrontation with police happened, recalled a loving but also at times quarrelsome man.

"He was aggressive. As far as violent, I don't know," said Garcia, who was not there when the shooting happened. "Every time (Claunch) got into a situation with me, I would just say, `Brian, calm down, calm down,' and I would walk away from him and in an hour or two he would be OK."

According to court records, Claunch lost his left arm and leg because "he firmly believed that the devil was in the left side of his body so he (decided) to lay down on the railroad tracks and waited for a train to come and (dismember) him." People with paranoid schizophrenia, a chronic condition, often see and hear things that aren't there.

Some of the worst aspects of Claunch's mental illness burst forth when he wouldn't calm down after demanding cigarettes and soda around 2 a.m. Saturday, Garcia said.

A caretaker called police. Authorities say Claunch cornered a responding officer with his wheelchair and waved a shiny object in his hand. The other responding officer, fearing for his partner's life and his own safety, shot Claunch in the head, police said. The shiny object turned out to be a ballpoint pen.

Since the shooting, community and civil rights groups have called for changes in how officers are trained and disciplined. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland has called the shooting tragic but asked people to reserve judgment until the department's investigation is completed. The FBI is monitoring the case.

A mental status examination in 2002 found Claunch was "pleasant and cooperative" but had a history of psychiatric hospitalizations over the prior decade. He was unable to work and would not take his medications, leading to him "hearing voices."

A probate court judge declared Claunch a ward of the Harris County Guardianship Program in 2003.

Court records show Claunch's mother initially petitioned to be her son's guardian but changed her mind.

Records show Claunch also had a brother and sister. Efforts this week to reach his family were unsuccessful.

During the first two years of his guardianship, Claunch did well, living in a personal care home in Houston, according to annual reports submitted to the probate court.

But by 2006, Claunch started running away, panhandling on local streets. Over the next few years, he went missing, was hospitalized and was in and out of jail on drug and trespassing charges. He also stopped taking his medications.

In 2010, he was placed at a state mental hospital in East Texas for several months.

He started living at Healing Hands in May 2011 but ran away after four months. He was found and brought back in March. At Healing Hands, located in a three-bedroom home, Claunch lived with two other men.

Estella Olguin, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Guardianship Program, said in the time Claunch was a ward of the county, he lived in at least 12 facilities. After coming back to Healing Hands, "he seemed to do really well," she said.

Garcia, 62, said he had twice before called police about Claunch – both times because he left the home and refused to return.

Claunch had seemed fine Friday night, said Garcia, who had given him a pack of cigarettes, two sodas and his medication before leaving around 8 p.m.

But Claunch, a chain smoker, went through his cigarettes and soda and around 2 a.m. began aggressively demanding more of both from the overnight caretaker.

The caretaker called 911, initially telling the operator he was having problems with a mentally ill person.

Because of static on the line, it's unclear if the operator knew about Claunch's mental condition, Garcia said.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Houston police spokesman John Cannon said he could not comment on whether the responding officers knew of Claunch's mental state. Healing Hands does not have any signs outside saying it is a facility for mentally ill or physically challenged individuals.

According to police, Claunch threatened to kill the two officers and tried to stab one with the shiny object in his hand.

The officer who shot him, Matthew Marin, had fatally shot another suspect in 2009, firing on a man who was stabbing his neighbor to death and refused to drop the knife. A five-year veteran, Marin was placed on administrative leave after Claunch's death.

Garcia said he is still in shock and is reserving judgment on whether the shooting was justified.

"I love Brian. He was one of God's children and that's the way I look at him," he said.